Sometimes it makes sense to take care of yourself first. How can you be a beacon of hope for the world when your internal is falling apart. If you aren't taking care of your own people how can you convince other nations to take care of their own people. Obviously, completely withdrawing into oneself brings on depression, but some sort of self care is required.

10:16 am December 4, 2009

Deadlines wrote :

What project have you ever taken up that did not have goals and deadlines. 5 year plans are necessary not to ensure accomplishment as much as to give direction. It is a mistake to see the 18 month deadline as a sign of weakness -- it is a sign of strength and determination and direction. It is extremely important to have a goal in sight to look forward to and to plan for, for the Afghan people, for the Afghan government, for the Soldiers.

10:48 am December 4, 2009

Get it done ! wrote :

There is an office joke that say : " The more time you have to perform a task , the longer it will take to finish it " .
18 months .... Hooray!!! Get it done !!!!

12:34 pm December 4, 2009

dom youngross wrote :

The new 'isolationism' is based on been-there/done-that/we've-seen-the-results/you're-full-of-it/so-take-a-hike Obama. And take McCain, Cheney, and Palin with you.

If there actually was a 'legitimate' government in Afghanistan for us to 'work' with, we wouldn't need to be there. The Afghans had eight years since the fall of the Taliban gov't back in 2001. EIGHT YEARS!!! What did they come up with in terms of self-government on their own? Nothing good. Obamalove wants you to believe that's our fault, like the Afghans are a bunch of 'at-risk' children who can't fend for themselves.

Matthew Hoh was right before President Obama's big speak. Matthew Hoh is still right after President Obama's big speak. Twenty years from now, Matthew Hoh will still be right. Google Matthew Hoh.

Eighteen months huh? President Obama said he would LIKE for us to be out in eighteen months. You only heard the eighteen months part. We've got the watches and calendars. They've got the time.

1:39 pm December 4, 2009

Check the expiration date wrote :

Why are we talking about new "isolationism" now but not when we invaded Iraq ? How would have Bush handled the present Afghan situation today . Someone should interview Bush and ask him what would be his solution if he would still be president .
If we were not able to stabilize the situation after EIGHT years , perhaps the writing is on the wall : time to pack our bags and come home .
This conflict is passed its expiration date .

3:28 pm December 4, 2009

Joe wrote :

Check the expiration date wrote:

"How would have Bush handled the present Afghan situation today . Someone should interview Bush and ask him what would be his solution if he would still be president."

We all know he would do the same thing that Obama's doing, except without the phony timeline. In 18-months, he'll bring back one unit and call that "troop withdrawal." I hope the people who escalated him to stardom realize that he's as much of a hack as his predecessor.

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Capital Journal is WSJ.com’s unique site for analysis of the political and policy maneuvering in Washington in the era of Barack Obama. It features the Capital Journal columns and occasional other postings by executive Washington editor Gerald F. Seib, and will house Political Wisdom, the Journal’s daily aggregation of the smartest political analysis from around the Internet. Also look for regular columns by Peter Brown of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute and occasional contributions from others.